Re: planting under Calif. live oak

At 10:13 AM 12/16/99 -0800, John Dreher wrote:
>Here's a list of plants for growing under oaks (should need no supplemental
>summer water) published by Sunset Magazine in its Nov. 1999 issue:
>
>Salvia greggii    <<  your garden is possibly too shady
>Iris douglasiana   <<  good, but still might like more sun
>Nepeta faassenii   <<  best with more sun
>Ceanothus griseus horizontalis  <<both Ceanothus like more sun
>Ceanothus rigidus
>Heuchera   << very good, use species types, newer nybrids often thirsty
>Narcissus  << if enough sun in late winter/spring
>Centranthus ruber  << blooms best in sun
>Rosmarinus officinalis  << can take shade if not overly humid
>Erigeron karvinskianus  <<  tends to get weedy and dries up in heat!
>Sasa veitchii  <<  can be good - very oriental in feeling
>Festuca ovina  <<  will tolerate shade - best in sun
>Senecio cineraria << yuck! use shade tolerant Artemesia stelleriana instead
>Pennisetum alopecuroides <<  better in sun
>Hypericum calycinum  << your friends might die of boredom!
>
>Anyone have comments on this list? I too have a live oak that takes up 
>most of my back yard, quite beautifully, but it seems to provide more 
>shade than I would guess some of the above plants would need. Of course, 
>the two story tall apartment building just over the property line to the 
>south could have something to do with the shadiness....
>
>Kay Dreher
>Berkeley, California

Kay -

I've added some comments to the above list from Sunset.  It is a shame that 
these folks must always reduce planting lists to the most common and leas 
interesting plants available!  Most of the above might not be a good risk 
in your heavy shade either.  Here are some worth considering for dry shade 
under oaks, with only once-a-month irrigation during dry months 
(recommended for plantings under normally summer dry oaks):

Acanthus mollis and spinosus - Bear's Breech - the quintessential 
Mediterranean plant, ubiquitous and perhaps too common, but I find that 
well-placed clumps with no or a very low groundcover under oaks are quite 
dramatic, showing off their classic form perfectly!

Aspidistra elatior - Cast Iron Plant - a victorian classic, seldom seen 
these days, but still handsome in shade, given room to arch its graceful 
leaves outward; some forms have cream-white stripes or dots and are much 
prized by the Japanese.

Capenteria californica, Tree Anemone - shrub - we've talked about this one 
recently, and there is a page on information on the web-site.

Cymbalaria muralis - Kenilworth Ivy - a delicate little tangle of a vine, 
too charming for words, with tiny ivy-shaped, cress-like leaves and 
singlely borne snapdragon flowers; prefers to grow in stone walls or in odd 
crevices, which it will cover completely during the cool, wet months, 
drying up completely in summer heat.

Holodiscus discolor, Ocean Spray - shrub - a nice native that is very 
underutilized, with a handsome, arching, Spirea-like habit and 
creamy-yellow fluffy, fragrant, flower clusters which dry an attractive tan.

Nephrolepis cordifolia - Southern Sword Fern - something that haunts older 
and neglected gardens, as it is thrives on neglect and spreads to make a 
dramatic groundcover; the upright feather fronds are yellow green and to my 
eye, very handsome; best if allowed to fill an area by itself as it will 
overrun all neighbors.

Pericallis cuneata (syn Senecio hybridus or S. cuneata) - Florist's 
Cinerarea - another old plant which has become relatively unknown by 
today's gardeners, growing from self-sown seed with the winter rains and 
producing brilliant pink, purple, blue, violet, magenta daisies in deep 
shape, and heavy soils; try and find someone who have them naturalized in 
their gardens, or let the horticultural types not available revert to a 
more graceful form over time; dies in summer drought to return with the rains.

Polystichum munitum - Western Sword Fern - a Calif. native from redwood 
country, where it makes impressive clumps in the dark understory of those 
majestice trees; clumps can reach 4-6ft wide if very happy; enjoys dense 
mulch/litter.

Ribes viburnifolium - Catalina Incense - groundcover shrub - spreading and 
rooting as it goes, the roundish dark green leaves on wine stems are 
attactive, but in rainy weather they are wonderfully fragrant; small 
clusters of pale rose flowers followed by red berries; cut out upright 
shoots to make a denser groundcover.

Ruscus hypoglossum - Butcher's Broom - an interesting evergreen shrubby 
perennial, with handsome green 'leaves' (actually flattened stems) that 
have a curious little flower growing right in their centers!

Sarcoccoca ruscifolia, Fragrant Sarcoccoca - low shrub - small, dark green 
evergreen leaves and tiny white, intensely fragrant flowers; loves deep 
shade and heavy soils.

Symphoricarpos - Snowberry - low, native Calif. shrubs with thin, roundish, 
soft green leaves, making a light tangle over the ground; insignificant 
flowers produce handsome round white, or pale pink berries; there are 
various species and clones, some even with variegated foliage.


There are certainly other candidates as well.  Most of those plants which 
will grow without supplimental irrigation, or with only once a month 
watering (the maximum suggested by summer dry oak experts) are worth 
considering.  For a handy little guide to growing plants under oaks, see 
Compatible Plants Under and Around Oaks, by the California Oak Foundation - 
see the main Medit-Plants web page (http://www.support.net/medit-Plants/) 
and enter 'california oak foundation' in the search box.  Apparently, when 
Sunset writers were researching their article, they made several calls to 
the Calif. Oak Foundation for information.  This group also has lots of 
interesting information about how to create land trusts that protect oaks 
for those who inherit California lands and who would normally have to sell 
the land to pay inheritance tax!!

Regards,
Sean O.

Sean A. O'Hara                       sean.ohara@groupmail.com
h o r t u l u s   a p t u s          710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose'     Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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